Elderberry Wine - Mess in the Making?

[yogi223]

I have my Elderberrys in a primary for 3 days now. I am afraid that the berries were mashed and broken down too much. The reason being ..... the plastic stirring spoon turns green after I stir the juice. It is a green slime that will not easily come off except with a lot of elbow grease.

What say you? Do I have a mess or will I have wine?

 

[WVMJ]

Its a waxy substance that doesnt dissolve in water but is soluable in oil, like vegetable oil. Wait until you have it transfered over into your secondary and they wash out all the stuff that will wash out normally then using a soft cloth dipped in veg oil rub down the green stuff. When that is all dissolved then was it off with hot water and dish soap making sure to rinse every bit of dish soap away. Its part of the price of making one of the best wines in the world WVMJ

 

[yogi223]

That made my day. These are a lot of work. Making a five gallon batch is something. Wouldn't want to do everyday.

Thanks for the cooking oil tip as well. That worked pretty good.

 

[WVMJ]

Stop complaning about it, once you taste it in a year and then in 2, 3 and 5 years you are going to make sure to make this every year. We lost most of our berries to bugs this year, wish I had enough berries to make a lot more. You can put a clear plastic food liner in your primary bucket, once you transfer the must over to your carboy just toss it out. But if you put a hole in it then you cant get to the wine underneath so we just use a bucket and clean it later, well worth the work. WVMJ

That made my day. These are a lot of work. Making a five gallon batch is something. Wouldn't want to do everyday.

Thanks for the cooking oil tip as well. That worked pretty good.

 

[BBBF]

I didn't get any on the goo last year, on my first elderberry mead. Is that because I didn't heat the heat the elderberries in any way or did I just get lucky?